The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3 eBook

“I have now described, O eldest son of Pandu,
the diverse duties of men. Do thou adhere to
kingly duties that are eternal and that have been
practised by great men since days of old. If thou
employest thyself with concentrated attention to the
duty of protecting (thy subjects), O tiger among men,
thou mayst then, O son of Pandu, obtain the merits
of all the four modes of life and of all the four
orders of men!”

SECTION LXVII

“Yudhishthira said, ’Thou hast said what
the duties are of the four modes of the life and the
four orders. Tell me now, O grandsire, what are
the principal duties of a kingdom.’

“Bhishma said, ’The (election and) coronation
of a king is the first duty of a kingdom. A kingdom
in which anarchy prevails becomes weak and is soon
afflicted by robbers.[212] In kingdoms torn by anarchy,
righteousness cannot dwell. The inhabitants devour
one another. An anarchy is the worst possible
of states. The Srutis declare that in crowning
a king, it is Indra that is crowned (in the person
of the king). A person who is desirous of prosperity
should worship the king as he should worship Indra
himself. No one should dwell in kingdoms torn
by anarchy. Agni does not convey (to the gods)
the libations that are poured upon him in kingdoms
where anarchy prevails. If a powerful king approaches
kingdoms weakened by anarchy, from desire of annexing
them to his dominions, the people should go forward
and receive the invader with respect. Some conduct
would be consistent with wise counsels. There
is no evil greater than anarchy. If the powerful
invader be inclined to equity, everything will be
right. If, on the other hand, he be engaged, he
may exterminate all. That cow which cannot be
easily milked has to suffer much torture. On
the other hand, that cow which is capable of being
easily milked, has not to suffer any torture whatever.
The wood that bends easily does not require to be
heated. The tree that bends easily, has not to
suffer any torture (at the hands of the gardener).
Guided by these instances, O hero, men should bend
before those that are powerful. The man that
bends his head to a powerful person really bends his
head to Indra. For these reasons, men desirous
of prosperity should (elect and) crown some person
as their king. They who live in countries where
anarchy prevails cannot enjoy their wealth and wives.
During times of anarchy, the sinful man derive great
pleasure by robbing the wealth of other people.
When, however, his (ill-got) wealth is snatched by
others, he wishes for a king. It is evident,
therefore, that in times of anarchy the very wicked
even cannot be happy. The wealth of one is snatched
away by two. That of those two is snatched away
by many acting together. He who is not a slave
is made a slave. Women, again, are forcibly abducted.
For these reasons the gods created kings for protecting
the people. If there were no king on earth for